Viridescence
by windscryer
Summary: "That's a nice look for you." Mike glanced down and gave himself an appraising look. "Who knew I could work a sundress?" Gen.
1. Chapter 1

**Lu and I spent some time awhile back coming up with prompts that could be applied to a variety of fandoms. This was one of them. :D**

**Disclaimer: If you promise that Harvey and Mike represent anyone who wants to sue me, I will TOTALLY claim that this show belongs to me. Otherwise, I'll deny everything.**

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><p><em>viridescence (vîrˈĭ-dĕs'əns). adj. Having a greenish tinge.<em>

_~.~  
><em>

The door to Harvey's office opened without even a courtesy knock, so Harvey knew it was Mike who'd walked in. Because it never paid to let associates think they were worth your immediate notice, he finished the page of the brief he was reading before looking up.

Only a very long and successful career in and out of courtrooms and boardrooms alike kept his expression from shifting at the sight of his associate in a sundress. A tiny, pale green thing with lace edging the bottom and embroidered flowers growing up the skirt, no less.

"That's a nice look for you."

Mike glanced down and gave himself an appraising look. "Who knew I could work a sundress?" he said in complete deadpan, though there was a red tint to his cheeks that was probably not makeup. Harvey hoped so anyway.

"Did your girlfriend buy you that? Because you should take her out to dinner as thanks. It really flatters your eyes."

Mike finally broke and rolled his eyes with a huff of annoyance.

"No, Jenny didn't pick it out. Louis did."

There wasn't enough experience in the world to keep Harvey's face from screwing up in confusion and disgust.

Mike's voice was aggrieved when he started to say, "It's because—"

Harvey's hand shot into the air, palm flattened toward his associate—a word he was loathe to use right at this moment. "No. No explanations. I really _don't_ want to know why Louis wanted you in a sundress he picked out himself."

Now Mike's face screwed up. "It sounds so much more creepy when you put it that way."

"That's because it _is_ creepy, Mike, and whatever excuse he used was merely to disguise that."

Mike huffed again and slapped the file in his hands down on the desk. "Whatever. Here's the research you asked for. If you'll excuse me, I have to return to the jeers and taunts of my fellow associates now and try really hard to _not_ think about this conversation we just had."

Harvey watched him stalk away and waited until he was about to cross the threshold when he said, "It could be worse."

Mike stopped and, after a moment, his head dropped forward. Another moment passed after which Harvey distinctly heard him mutter, "I seriously doubt that."

"At least your shoes match. I mean, you could have—" He didn't get to finish as Mike walked out the door, a single raised finger lifted so Harvey could see it over his shoulder.

Harvey chuckled and returned to his brief, pausing only to call out, "Donna—"

"Already sent it."

"Thank you."

Harvey flipped the page and kept reading, but he couldn't quite wipe the smile off his face.

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><p><strong>I've closed this for now, but I have a possible second chapter for this. I just don't know if anyone is brave enough to risk seeing what I'll do next. Drop me a review and let me know, won't you? :)<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**So there is still no explanation as to WHY or HOW Louis managed to make this happen. Sorry. I was going to do it, but then I realized that meant plumbing the depths of Louis' character and soul and... *shudder* even I'm not THAT brave or stupid.**

**But there IS an explanation for the e-mail Donna sent and Harvey's response to Louis in person. That's an acceptable substitute, yes?  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: Still not mine, but if necessary I will compensate the owners of these fabulous characters by volunteering to cuddle Mike until nightmares of Louis no longer haunt him. 0:D  
><strong>

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><p>Harvey watched from a nicely oblique corner while Louis checked his e-mail. He knew exactly when Louis got the one Donna had just sent on his behalf by the way his eyes flew wide and his skin color went to an ashy shade. It then did a full reverse and flushed in a way that might have actually caused Harvey to worry for his health—that is, if he didn't already know that Louis had a cockroach somewhere in his ancestry. He'd survive.<p>

Unfortunately.

Harvey savored the panic unfolding before him in twitches and gasps for air and frantic looks around as he crossed the hall and knocked a single knuckle against the glass of the open door.

"Hey, Louis, do you have a minute?" It was a rhetorical question, of course, and so he let himself in and shut the door, coming to stand a few feet from Louis' desk. He stuffed his hands in his pocket, the very picture of relaxation and nonchalance.

"I see you got the e-mail. It's a nice angle, isn't it?"

"You said that you destroyed it."

"And I did. I personally put the hard copy of that photo through the shredder right here in the office and saw it come out as colored dust on the other side."

"Then how is it in my e-mail right now?" Louis asked, enamel of his teeth almost audibly creaking.

"Because it was taken with a digital camera, Louis, and you only made me promise to destroy the copy I had with me."

"That was NOT our agreement! I told you—"

"To shred it. And I did. Louis, you can't shred a digital copy unless you print it, but that still doesn't do anything to the digital copy."

Louis stared at him for a long moment, no doubt envisioning strangling him with his own tie or something else equally ridiculous.

"Destroy the digital copy, Harvey."

Harvey didn't even pretend to contemplate that. "No."

"You have to—"

Harvey put up a finger. "I don't have to do anything you say, Louis. But you know what? The reverse is not true." Now his voice shifted from jovial banter to accept-our-settlement-in-this-private-conference-room-or-be-publicly-crucified-in-court.

"Let me be clear with you, Louis. You want to play games with that 'herd of ponies' out there the rest of us call associates, fine. Jessica put you in charge of them and it's your unenviable job to make them into something resembling lawyers for this firm. You want to put them all in cheerleading skirts and have them perform a half-time show at the Superbowl, be my guest. But Mike is not your associate. He's _mine_. And the next time you even _think_ of conning or ordering or blackmailing him into something like this, you remember that digital photographs can't be shredded—but reputations sure as hell can be.

"Now, neither Jessica nor any of the other senior partners has been sent this e-mail. It only went to you. But if I don't have my associate in my office in the next ten minutes dressed in a suit and tie, every printer in this building is going to start spewing copies of this image until we have enough for wallpaper from the roof to the sub-basements."

"You wouldn't."

Harvey shrugged. "I just wanted to send it to the senior partners and Mike, but Donna is not as forgiving as I am." He leaned down and said in a conspiratorial voice, "You should really probably keep that in mind for future reference."

Harvey made sure to check the time, then left.

~.~

Exactly ten minutes later Harvey looked up to see Mike rushing in, one hand full of file folders, the other pulling the knot on his tie to tighten it.

"Hey, did you say something to Louis?" he asked as he gave the skinny silk noose one last tug.

"I try to avoid that as much as possible. Why?"

"Because he apologized to me and said that I could change back early and—" He stopped at the arch of Harvey's eyebrow. "Never mind. Uh, here are the Magliano financial records."

While Mike explained what he'd found, Harvey swiveled his desk around to where he could see Donna. She turned around and gave him a bright grin and he nodded his gratitude.

No one messed with their puppy.

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><p><strong>This is indeed the end, my friends. I have no more to add to this tale. But I <em>am<em> working on a few others so you should hear from me again.**

**In the meantime, drop me a review and let me know if this was enjoyable, won't you? :)**


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